West Chester native John Barry, a real estate investor currently based in Boston, has bought the West Chester building that houses Iron Hill Brewery for $8.25 million, writes Natalie Kostelni for the Philadelphia Business Journal. 

Entity 1 West Gay Partners that is affiliated with Pearl Properties of Philadelphia was the seller of the property. The previous owner acquired the 26,000-square-foot building in 2007 for $4.6 million. 

Known as the Merchant building, the landmark structure sits at the corner of Gay and High streets. It is often credited with helping to kick off a renaissance of the borough. 

The building that once housed a Woolworth’s was bought by StabAB in 1996. The real estate company converted it into restaurant space and office space. Iron Hill moved into the building in 1998 and is its anchor tenant. Its lease runs through 2030, according to Andrew Turner of Pillar Real Estate who represented the buyer. 

The entire space is currently fully leased. In addition to the brewery, tenants include software company Scoir, Windish Music & Productions, and D.P. Dough restaurant. 

Read more about the sale in the Philadelphia Business Journal. 

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in August 2022.